What are the "history wars," and what are their implications for technology use in history?

The "history wars" refer to a debate about the content of Social Studies classes. The debate is concerns the role of history in the Social Studies curriculum. Some of the questions that are part of this debate are whether Social Studies should be mainstream and traditional historical events or whether broader themes should be taught.

With technology providing more access to information via the Internet, the debate about Social Studies content is partly in the hands of the students. Students can research information on more traditional history topics or may find other social issues more interesting. In any event, not only will the teacher need to know mainstream history but also continue being exposed to broader issues in order to intellectually "feed" the student.

With students' ready access to information on the Internet, what might be the concerns of social studies teachers?

The concern that any teacher may have with information from the Internet is reliability. While a teacher may provide links for students to use for research, there is no guarantee that the student will stay within the directed "zone" of research. If the Internet becomes the primary source of student information for Social Studies then the teacher's influence as the Subject Matter Expert can be diminished. I can't see the Internet losing ground to traditionally taught subjects so the best that educational institutions is adapt and direct the learning experience rather then be pushed along by the massive data available on the web.